Midnight Commander

Midnight Commander is a cool open-source app that gives you a feature-rich text-mode file manager. It runs entirely in your terminal emulator, making it super handy for file management. You can use it on different operating systems like GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X!

Easy File Management

This command-line visual file manager lets you do all the basic stuff like copying, moving, renaming, and deleting files. You can work with single files or even entire directories! It’s really straightforward.

Key Features

Some of the key features include:

• Easily set new permissions and owners for your files.


• Quickly search for files when you need them.


• Create hard and symbolic links without breaking a sweat.


• Edit symlinks right from the interface.


• Run commands in a subshell for more advanced tasks.

This app also comes with an internal viewer and editor—great for working with text files!

User-Friendly Interface

You can create directories, select groups of files, compare directories, and even check out directory sizes. Plus, there are options to edit extension and menu files. Want to access your directory hotlist or command history? No problem!

Mouse Navigation & Customization

If you prefer using a mouse instead of just keyboard navigation, you're in luck! It works with mouse devices when you're running it in X Window terminals. You can also customize its layout to fit your style.

Extending Functionality

The app is super flexible too! You can extend it to handle various archive formats like CAB, ISO9660, ARJ, RAR, ZIP, ACE, and 7z. Plus, you can access Virtual File System (VFS) Samba shares or CVS services by installing extra packages!

Supported Linux Distributions

If you’re using Linux, Midnight Commander works great with distributions like Debian (Squeeze through Sid) and Ubuntu (Lucid Lynx to Saucy Salamander). The best way to install it is through your operating system's default software channels—easy peasy!

Your Best Friend as an Admin

In short, Midnight Commander will always be a system administrator's best buddy! Its Ncurses-based text-mode interface works on any X11 terminal emulator or over SSH (Secure Shell) connections. So go ahead and give it a try!